Deyoe defends against attacks that have come at him and his party

Thursday

Apr 26, 2018 at 12:01 AM

To the editor:

On the opinion page of last week’s newspaper, there was a letter to the editor and a column (in the Nevada Journal), both of which either attacked me by name or Republican legislators in general, for things we have supposedly supported.

I don’t mind defending difficult votes I have taken. However, it does not seem fair to not only have to defend things I have not voted for, but things in which a vote has not even occurred.

For example, the column attacks Republicans in general for not supporting K-12 schools, even though there has never been a vote in the past eight years to cut them. Funding for schools has reached an all-time high of $3.2 Billion and since 2011, has outpaced the rate of inflation, growing by $765 million (up 30 percent).

As I am writing this letter, I have not yet taken a vote on a tax cut plan. The plan I will vote for will be responsible and sustainable. The primary reason for doing tax reform this year is because of federal tax changes that will cause an increase in Iowa taxes, as a result of federal deductibility. This artificial windfall should not be used as an excuse to grow government. It is money that should remain in Iowans’ pockets.

The so-called “budget mess we are in” is the equivalent of a family expecting to make $73,000 with very little debt and more than $6,000 extra cushion for cash flow and emergencies in their checking account. The family finds out mid-year that they will make only $72,000. Since they had originally planned to spend less than $71,000, they are still probably OK, but they decide to spend $200 less eating out and increase the cushion in their account to $7,300 by the end of the year. They recently found out their income next year will be over $77,000. Add five zeroes to the end of each these numbers to understand the state budget.